Ionic bonding teaching resources

Worksheets and lesson ideas to challenge students aged 11 to 16 to think hard about ions and ionic bonding (GCSE and Key Stage 3)

Where to begin when teaching ionic bonding? Do you start with the reaction of sodium with chlorine? Or do you start with the ionic lattice and then move to the electronic configuration of the ions? Whatever your route, make sure you start with something that makes sense to students i.e. it’s something they can see, taste or touch. Whether it’s salty chips or explosive reactions make the abstract accessible.

Ionic dot and cross diagrams

Ionic lattice

GCSE reading task on ionic lattices. Students read a passage about an ionic lattice and discuss the meaning of a number of words underlined in the text, both scientific and non-scientific. Students select other words that have similar meanings to those underlined in the passage. This simple activity can be adapted for a variety of topics, age-groups and texts. It should hopefully help your students to read for meaning. (PDF)